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Friday, September 23, 2011

Quick Links

Crazy Driving! | Andrew Kramer | Vimeo
A tutorial on shooting car interiors with a green screen, and how to process it in After Effects.



Final Cut Pro X Effects Tutorial: Green Screen / Chroma Key | Dan Allen | YouTube
And a green screen tutorial for those with Final Cut Pro X:
In this HD Voice Tutorial for Apple Final Cut Pro 10 we take a look at the 'Keyer Effect, and learn the logistics of a good chroma key using a bluscreen / blue screen or greenscreen / green screen.


Affordable 300 watt CFL lighting setup | DSLR Film Noob
I saw this referenced on Planet5D; a review of a budget CFL light based system from Cowboystudio 1200 Watt Photography, Video, and Portrait Studio Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit With Four 85 Watt, 5500K Day Light Balanced CFL bulbs. The advantage of these systems is the low power consumption and low heat output of the lights. I've never used this kind of lighting so don't know what the pros and cons of it are vs. other lighting systems.



Fans Give George Lucas $84 Million Worth Of Reasons To Keep Messing With ‘Star Wars’ | IndieWire
I guess he'll keep tinkering...
The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the Blu-Ray set, priced at a hefty $140, has become the highest-selling release in the format to date since it hit stores last Friday, selling 515,000 units in the U.S. alone, and taking in $84 million worldwide.


What I learned shooting my first two DSLR video stories | Accent Media
The writer offers some lessons learned in his journey from Sony EX1's to the Nikon D3:
Using a DSLR makes me fully understand how much the optical stabilization on a video camera really works. Without some type of support, DSLRs are damn hard to hold steady. I’ve downsized to a smaller and lighter tripod that works pretty well. I can shorten it up and use it as a brace in a pinch. Monopods, I’ve found, stop the up and down camera movements, but not the side-to-side.


Hands on with the Nikon 1 J1 | Theano Nikitas | Macworld
A fairly favorable preview of the new camera from Nikon - as a still camera - even if many pros have written it off:
Perhaps one of the most interesting, and potentially useful, functions is the ability to take stills while shooting video—without any breaks in the video. The camera’s high-definition video mode maxes out at a 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 60 interlaced fields per second (1080i/60fps), saving the results as MOV files.


Info on Scarlet and Nov. 3rd announcement (condensed) | Jason Ramsey | REDuser
A summation of what's known about the impending announcement from RED, which is coming the same day as an announcement from Canon.

Vincent Laforet also offers some thoughts on the dual announcements, though confirms that he doesn't have any insight to offer on what's coming from Canon.
Will the number “3″ be a significant number? | Vincent Laforet



Former ARRI exec pleads guilty to hacking into rival CEO's e-mail account, faces jail time | Engadget
Michael Bravin, a VP of Market Development at ARRI has pleaded guilty to hacking into the e-mail account of rival camera maker Band Pro Film and Digital.
Guilty Plea Rocks Hollywood Camera Biz | Deadline Hollywood



James Cameron talks 3D at Summit | Rachel Abrams | Variety
Cameron's thoughts on converting 2D to 3D, as well as frame rates to shoot in. He doesn't think 3D is failing:
Like many speakers at the conference, Cameron and Pace pooh-poohed the notion that 3D isn't doing well, arguing that the 3D box office is up 40% year over year for the past four years. In fact, with more 3D pics unspooling than ever before, some exhibs still don't have enough screens equipped to show all the product available.


Confessions of a YouTube superstar | Bobbie Johnson | Gigaom
Charlie McDonnell is doing so well on YouTube, he's not really interested in jumping to television:
“For me, it’s always been hard to justify doing stuff on television. To an outsider it might seem like that’s your big break, but being able to learn about how TV works over the last couple of years, I’ve generally come to the conclusion that I much prefer doing stuff online — it’s freer for me.”


Sony’s S-log For Dummies – Matt Allard explains how it works with his PMW-F3
| Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter
Matt explains what S-Log is and how to shoot with it on the Sony PMW-F3:
In a nutshell, S-log is supposed to offer you exceptional tonal reproduction in both the high-lights and low-lights. In other words it can help expose the brightest part of your scene while still keeping the detail in the shadows. We have all shot something when, to expose for the brightest part of a scene, we have had to stop the camera down. This usually means losing all the detail in the shadows. S-log helps you to keep some of that information you would normally lose.




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